Re: Lightweight Theater walls

Rob <run2@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in
news:7b2444c7-9ca6-4876-9924-ed6ec855f5a3@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
 

> On Jun 2, 11:47 am, Christopher Jahn
> <cj...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>> WilliamMLov...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
 wrote
>> innews:5706e52f-5109-482b-a201-14d65a35331c 
> @[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> s.com:
>>
>>
>>
>> >> You'd be wrong. BTDT.  The angled steel has very poor
>> >> tortional performance in this application.  It also
>> >> buckles much more readily than 1x3.  U-shaped steel does
>> >> much better. 
>>
>> > This is excellent, This exactly what I am looking for. A
>> > real life story.
>> > Please describe the construction?
>> > Frame:
>> > - Did you use 12 foot angled steel (angled slotted steel?)
>>
>> Yes.
>>
>> > - Did you bolt the frames together at the corners? or only
>> > attach them to the panels.
>>
>> Bolted them at the corners
>>
>> > - Were they 12 x 4 foot frames?
>>
>> Yes.
>>
>> > Panel:
>> > - What material did you use.
>>
>> 1/4" lauan
>>
>>
>>
>> > Now the BIG Questions:
>> > - What failure happened where torsional performance is
>> > needed? 
>>
>> They wobble and twist.  There is effectively no torsional
>> performance.  They also tended to buckle at the seams while
>> we were moving them around the shop.
>>
>> > Did the failure happen during setup or during the
>> > performance? 
>>
>> They never made it out of the shop.  I refuse to put
>> something so inherently unsafe on a stage.  They were not
>> only wobbly, they were ***bersome to move into position.
>>
>> Not a technology suited to use on a theatrical stage.
>>
>> But here's something you might find
>> useful:http://mywebpage.netscape.com/x

> jahn/Stagecraft.html
> 
> I saw the pictures- I've used these studs too, but used 2x3
> blocks, like i'd seen framers do, in corners for stablity.
> You didn't and had good torsional strength? That's great news
> because one drawback to steel studs for me was the extra
> cutting of the corner blocks. Another was the sharp edges. But
> on the whole is this a technique you would use again?
> 

They were mildly flexible at the corners until final assembly.  
Traditional corner blocks can make them completely rigid, as can 
skinning the back of the piece. In fact, if you need double-sided 
flats, this technique produces an extremely stiff and lightweight 
unit.  But for box sets, we didn't bother with corner blocks; they 
were plenty rigid when fully assembled.

The shop stopped using the technique when I moved out of the shop 
and into management; this technique doesn't forgive slop, and our 
carps kept wanting to skip the clamping.  That resulted in poor 
fastening.  They also had problems mastering the art of screwing 
the skin to the frame; it takes a deft touch to do it quickly.  
It's not the same process as stapling and gluing.  I could build 
them in about the same amount of time; my replacements took nearly 
twice as long as conventional framing.

Factor in the fact that steel prices leapt ahead of lumber prices, 
and it just made sense to go back to lumber framing.  They do still 
use the technique when they're flying pieces.

I think the technique is useful, and it's certainly greener, but 
ultimately traditional lumber framing edges it out in terms of 
practicality and labor costs.

-- 
}:-)       Christopher Jahn
{:-(       http://soflatheatre.blogspot.com/

The Eleventh Commandment: Thou shalt not get caught.